Television sets have become commonplace in homes, businesses and institutions offering diversified digital content, with viewing considered as a passive and relaxing experience, limited to the place itself.
During the last few years, with advancement of technology, various developments have been made to provide television services on a social basis taking advantage of the relationship between individuals, connecting users watching public television content in different locations. The vast amount of new electronic display devices adds to social television the concept of shared-viewing trends in creating a shift in television viewing from passive to active experience.
Social television introduced advanced technology which combines communication and social environment in the context of watching digital content, enabling the most common social television activity of watching digital content with others, allowing instant sharing of favorite digital media content with a social group. Such systems may, for example, provide text chat, indicating the presence and context consciousness, integrate voice communication, viewing of recommendations, ratings or video-conferencing related to viewing digital content either directly on screen or by using supplementary devices.
Furthermore, the media viewing experience is turning richer with video content becoming available on increasingly diverse devices such as television, personal computers, tablets, mobile communication devices, telephones, hand held devices and the like. In parallel, the social environment is changing, taking advantage of new emerging technologies and yielding a whole new world of experiences. Television broadcasting networks continue to deliver digital content in diverse areas of interest, answering different tastes and flavors. Combining the digital media, specifically the television as a platform, with the social environment increases the demand for sharing digital content and views.
Television is a wide reaching vehicle and a highly significant player in the digital media content domain. Recent studies of consumer behavior and television measurements (eMarketer—Digital Intelligence, Nielsen) claim that 99% of American households watch television on a regular basis, with the average adult spending more time watching television than surfing the internet. The report reveals that in 2010, the average adult spent about four and half hours per day watching television, compared to an average of just two and a half hours per day spent online.
Additionally, the percentage of American homes having at least one television set is reaching 99%, with two thirds of them owning at least three sets. These numbers highlight the fact that television is still a most widespread and premier entertainment platform.